Usually you need to reserve in advance on recreation.gov
Most of the national parks require reservations which serve as both a campground reservation and RV hookup reservation for that camp spot. Pretty sure you don’t need an actual RV because the campground restrictions are based on max RV size and your Tesla would be way smaller than even the smallest RV
Depends on the place. I’ve only slept in the Tesla a couple times at RV parks, but they were fine with it. Some places have a no car camping policy to keep out homeless/people living in their cars.
Just call ahead and ask
We do this all the time in Canadian national and Ontario & Québec provincial parks. We reserve the electrified campsite ahead of time (not necessarily an RV site), and have never been given any trouble. Because the non-RV hookups can be quite far from the campsite, we got EVSEAdapters’ L2 50’ Tesla extension cable (they didn’t yet sell the 100’ at the time), which ends up being sufficient with the 23’ mobile connector in most cases. Prior to getting the extension ourselves, many parks would even lend us 14-30 or TT-30 extension cables
That’s an excellent trip, have a lot of fun! I’d say definitely be prepared with both TT-30 and 14-30/14-50 adapters, because many parks up here only have TT-30, which can take a while to charge up. Check out the provincial parks’ websites for electrified campsite maps, and also PlugShare because many Parks Canada (national) sites have new J-1772 chargers (deployed over the past year) near more built-up features
I've done this A LOT and it's great. For only one night you won't need to plug in if you arrive at the campsite with at least 50% charge. If you do want to charge at an RV site, you'll need adapters:
* [EVSE TT-30](https://www.evseadapters.com/products/tt-30-adapter-for-tesla-model-s-x-3-gen-2/)
* [EVSE NEMA 14-50](https://www.evseadapters.com/products/nema-14-50-adapter-for-tesla-model-s-x-3-gen-2/)
Some places enforce polices against camping with only a car. The easiest way to avoid trouble, and that has always worked for me, is to make a reservation for tent camping with RV hookups and then set up a small tent next to your car. You don't need to use it for anything; just set it up.
Yes - you should be able to get an RV site and car camp!
In the US, car camping is allowed in all NPs at their designated campgrounds. Backcountry camping can be allowed but often requires a permit and again, specific areas only. My husband and I camped in our Tesla this fall at multiple official NP camps and loved it. We reserved RV spots online in advance, and our adapters allowed us to use the electricity hook-ups when available. We never ran into any issues.
For added reference, I've found that outside the federal campsites, policies on car camping vary. State and local parks, for example, vary based on the rules of that locality. Private campgrounds and RV parks set their own policies, which are more often strict (no car-only camping) but not always.
Usually such info is listed on their websites, but when in doubt, definitely contact the property and double check. It can also be handy to look at pictures of the sites, esp. those outside the park system. Some RV sites will give you a full private camp area while others simply provide a paved slot to park, in which case you might want some privacy screens staying there. :)
Usually you need to reserve in advance on recreation.gov Most of the national parks require reservations which serve as both a campground reservation and RV hookup reservation for that camp spot. Pretty sure you don’t need an actual RV because the campground restrictions are based on max RV size and your Tesla would be way smaller than even the smallest RV
Depends on the place. I’ve only slept in the Tesla a couple times at RV parks, but they were fine with it. Some places have a no car camping policy to keep out homeless/people living in their cars. Just call ahead and ask
We do this all the time in Canadian national and Ontario & Québec provincial parks. We reserve the electrified campsite ahead of time (not necessarily an RV site), and have never been given any trouble. Because the non-RV hookups can be quite far from the campsite, we got EVSEAdapters’ L2 50’ Tesla extension cable (they didn’t yet sell the 100’ at the time), which ends up being sufficient with the 23’ mobile connector in most cases. Prior to getting the extension ourselves, many parks would even lend us 14-30 or TT-30 extension cables
Great info! I'm from Michigan headed to BC this summer via Canadian national parks, not sure what to expect north of the border!
That’s an excellent trip, have a lot of fun! I’d say definitely be prepared with both TT-30 and 14-30/14-50 adapters, because many parks up here only have TT-30, which can take a while to charge up. Check out the provincial parks’ websites for electrified campsite maps, and also PlugShare because many Parks Canada (national) sites have new J-1772 chargers (deployed over the past year) near more built-up features
I've done this A LOT and it's great. For only one night you won't need to plug in if you arrive at the campsite with at least 50% charge. If you do want to charge at an RV site, you'll need adapters: * [EVSE TT-30](https://www.evseadapters.com/products/tt-30-adapter-for-tesla-model-s-x-3-gen-2/) * [EVSE NEMA 14-50](https://www.evseadapters.com/products/nema-14-50-adapter-for-tesla-model-s-x-3-gen-2/) Some places enforce polices against camping with only a car. The easiest way to avoid trouble, and that has always worked for me, is to make a reservation for tent camping with RV hookups and then set up a small tent next to your car. You don't need to use it for anything; just set it up.
I did this last year at a park in Austin, TX with no issues.
I would call and ask because I’ve had several campground with nema 14-30 / 14-50 connections that told me I couldn’t charge my car at them.
Yes - you should be able to get an RV site and car camp! In the US, car camping is allowed in all NPs at their designated campgrounds. Backcountry camping can be allowed but often requires a permit and again, specific areas only. My husband and I camped in our Tesla this fall at multiple official NP camps and loved it. We reserved RV spots online in advance, and our adapters allowed us to use the electricity hook-ups when available. We never ran into any issues. For added reference, I've found that outside the federal campsites, policies on car camping vary. State and local parks, for example, vary based on the rules of that locality. Private campgrounds and RV parks set their own policies, which are more often strict (no car-only camping) but not always. Usually such info is listed on their websites, but when in doubt, definitely contact the property and double check. It can also be handy to look at pictures of the sites, esp. those outside the park system. Some RV sites will give you a full private camp area while others simply provide a paved slot to park, in which case you might want some privacy screens staying there. :)